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The birth of a child is, for most families, a joyous occasion. But for women who suffer from obstetric fistula, this is often not the case.

Imagine experiencing a prolonged and excruciating labor, suffering the heartache of a stillborn child, and then enduring devastating health problems that leave you incontinent and prone to infections for years to come. And then imagine, after all you’ve gone through, being abandoned by your family and community.

This is life for many women with obstetric fistula.

That’s why IntraHealth International is working to raise $500,000 through its End Shame: Restore Dignity campaign to help women in Mali reclaim their dignity and well-being.

With your help, we’ll provide them with the surgical procedure that can cure their fistulas, and with the social, psychological, and economic skills and resources they need to rejoin their communities.

Together we can change the way societies react to fistula—and the way they provide care to vulnerable women and families.

IntraHealth is the leading NGO working in Mali to prevent and treat Fistula with proven success.
We are building the skills of local health workers to prevent, identify, and treat fistula.

When we first started addressing fistula in Mali, there were only a handful of surgeons qualified to provide even basic repair surgeries.
We are training local surgeons and preparing more health centers to offer fistula care.

We have provided more than 1,000 women with fistula repair surgeries and are reaching 30 new women each month.
But this is not nearly enough to reach the tremendous backlog of women who are suffering needlessly.

YOU CAN HELP:

$10 buys 5 physician consultations for women and girls in need

$70 pays for a life-changing surgery

$72 covers a biological analysis

$100 covers 3 weeks of hospital care and recovery for a woman or girl

$205 buys a woman or girl a fistula kit, including necessary medications.

What is Obstetric Fistula?

Fistula is a preventable injury, not a disease.

It is caused by prolonged, obstructed labor.

Adolescent girls are at highest risk.

During an obstructed labor, the baby’s head pushes against the mother’s pelvis. Without emergency obstetric care, the pressure eventually causes soft tissue to die leaving a hole called a fistula.

Fistula results in chronic incontinence of urine, feces, or both.

Any amount helps:

$10 buys 5 physician consultations for women and girls in need

$70 pays for a life-changing surgery

$72 covers a biological analysis

$100 covers 3 weeks of hospital care and recovery for a woman or girl

$205 buys a woman or girl a fistula kit, including necessary medications.

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About IntraHealth

For over 35 years, IntraHealth International has empowered health workers to better serve their communities in more than 100 countries. IntraHealth fosters local solutions to health care challenges by improving health worker performance, strengthening health systems, harnessing technology and leveraging partnerships.